Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,626 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,603 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $6,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Evergy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $112,464,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Evergy by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 260,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,790,000 after purchasing an additional 19,193 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 4,661.9% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 12,121 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 66.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 20,538 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 13.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after buying an additional 35,940 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $64.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.44 and its 200 day moving average is $57.79. Evergy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.04 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.46%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,724 shares of company stock valued at $3,777,059. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EVRG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Evergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. It serves residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities.